The Turkish region of Cappadocia, a region of exceptional natural wonders, in particular characterized by fairy chimneys and a unique historical and cultural heritage, boasts one of the most dramatic sights in the world.
Visiting Cappadocia is such a change from visiting many other busy bustling sights all over Turkey. It is a great pleasure to wander in the vast open space filled with captivating natural attractions which have seen human history dated back in the Bronze Age.
While in Goreme Open Air Museum , the conical formations resulting from the volcanic eruptions that took place millions of years ago, just follow the path up to the top of one of the ridges where a spectacular view of the fairy chimneys awaits you. The natural cone formations contain caves and labyrinths. As early as the third century, those chimneys became a hiding place for early Christians who fled persecution from the Romans, and then later from raiding Muslims. In modern tourism, many caves have been turned into cave houses for tourist stays and the lunar-like setting of Goreme Valley has become popular for hot-air ballooning.
Many say the extremely unique landscape of Cappadocia resembles some scene in a Star Wars movie and yet you may be surprised to discover that no major commercial movies have been filmed there. It would be a perfect setting for movies such as Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter series.
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This is an amazing historical monastic site. You get the opportunity to hike among the fairy chimneys that have been in use as old christian churches which date from the 10th through 12th centuries. There are several intact frescos and this is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is not a large area and is easy to hike, but some…
Easy walk down the hill from the Kelebek. Worthwhile walk & climb. Magnificent views!
Incredible, the history and culture. I frequently tell the stories of these caves to my friends back home.
This area was a monastic centre for early christians. It contains several churches with amazing painted walls with the scenes from bible. There are also monastic areas with long rock carved dining tables, storage areas and kitchens. It is very popular so is very crowded in the middle of the day. When there are big tour groups the queues in…
We enjoyed our trip to Derinkuyu the underground city, where we had the chance to see how people lived under the ground for years, how they made vine and how they protected "the city" from enemies. Greta and spooky!
Just a unique place. The melding of natural forms with centuries of habitation was pretty wild for a New Worlder. The restored frescoes are mesmerizing
Cappadocia is a unique part of the world with cave churches at the Goreme open air museum and nearby fairy chimneys. This is a very special part of Turkey. It was hard to pick a highlight from our two weeks in Turkey, but we think Cappadocia and a morning Balloon Trip over this area would probably come in at No…
Our Guide Mr. Mehmet Buyukata took us to this heavenly place where time just stood still, So fresh, so beautiful, the smell of clean air, nature at its best. The water was so cold, the trees so inviting, perfect place to destress. The walk from Ihlara Valley towards Belisirma took us about half an hour but we could have walked…
This is so cool–This and a ballon ride are why you go to Cappadocia. The site is well organized and has a good variety of things to see. We were glad we actually took our hotel's advice and went to do this. worth it than Zelve open air museum.
The churches excavated in rock were a great experience. We visited at a national holiday, causing too many people and long waiting time for many of the attractions.